Ordinary Made Extraordinary: A Survey of Folk Art celebrates the creativity of artists who work outside the walls of the art academy. Largely self taught, these individuals created compelling artwork that finds beauty in the needs and challenges of everyday life. Whether functional in origin or pure whimsy, folk art embodies both traditional and individual expressions that are as varied as the human experience.

Drawn from a private collection and the Morris Museum’s permanent collection, the works featured demonstrate how folk art can take inspiration from many sources—as a conveyor of cultural traditions, a celebration of national history, or as a portal for personal expressions.

This major exhibition includes more than 150 objects ranging from weathervanes, carousel animals, sculpture, maritime art, and trade signs to furniture, kitchen utensils, games and toys (including whimsies and whirligigs), textiles, paintings and works on paper. Highlights include:

• Exquisitely carved carousel animals by craftsmen Gustav Denzel, Charles Looff, and Charles Parker;
• An extensive selection of more than 30 weathervanes in a variety of shapes (horses, cows, peacocks, and other animals) by Jonathan Howard, Alvin Jewel, and unknown makers;
• Painted furniture includes cradles, a mammy bench, and a trio of chests attributed to the Compass Point Artist;
• Trade signs range from barber shop poles to a show piece created by a blacksmith;
• Works on paper include calligraphy drawings and an exceptional example of intricate Hebrew micrography by David Davidson;
• Maritime art features a selection of scrimshaw, a seaman’s letter box, and a Pilot House eagle; and
• Textiles including quilts and samplers.

The exhibition also features contemporary “outsider art” created outside mainstream society and the precepts of mainstream art work. Often the biography or circumstances in which the individual artist pursued his creative expression reflects a marginalization by society. Included are works by Bill Traylor, Thai Varick, Raymond Masterson, and Martin Ramirez.

The objects featured in this exhibition demonstrate how individuals have transformed ordinary objects into extraordinary works of art.

Related Programming:
Guided Tour of Ordinary Made Extraordinary: Survey of Folk Art Thursday, Oct. 11, 6:30-8:00 p.m., free for members of the Friends; $10/meeting for non-members.

Tot Tours
Oct. 19, at 10 a.m. - Folk Art: Explore The Ordinary Made Extraordinary exhibit and then make your own folk art; free with museum admission. Tours begin promptly at 10 a.m. and run 30-40 minutes and are for children ages 2 to 5 and their caregivers. Activities include a mini gallery tour and an art project. Pre-registration is not required.

The Morris Museum is an award-winning, community-based arts and cultural institution which serves the public through the presentation of high caliber permanent and changing exhibitions in the arts, sciences and humanities.

The Museum also offers educational programs, family events, and is home to the Bickford Theatre and its wide range of performing arts offerings. Continuously serving the public since 1913, the Morris Museum has been designated a Major Arts Institution and has received the New Jersey State Council on the Arts’ Citation of Excellence, among other awards. In 2013 the museum will celebrate its Centennial Anniversary.

These programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State, a Partner Agency of the National Endowment for the Arts; the Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation; the F.M. Kirby Foundation and the New Jersey Cultural Trust.

The Morris Museum is a Blue Star Museum, offering free admission to active duty military personnel and their families, from Memorial Day to Labor Day 2012.

The museum is located at 6 Normandy Heights Road (at the corner of Columbia Turnpike) in Morristown and is open Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.; and Sunday, noon-5 p.m. Admission to the museum is $10 for adults and $7 for children, students and senior citizens. Admission is always free for museum members and is free to the public every Thursday between 5 and 8 p.m.